I haven’t played any of those but the Westover seems awfully big for a harp of that range.

According to the stats page on the Westover website, the Westover therapy harp weighs over 9 lbs.

Hi Karen,

I have had my Lewis Creek Nightingale for almost 3 years now and I am loving it! It has a beautiful, warm tone (mine is made out of Cherry Wood), is light weight and has 27 strings, about the maximum you will find on a therapy harp. I highly recommend Truitt levers, since they don’t change the tone and are lighter than any of the others.

I was completely new to the harp when I got my Nightingale and played it exclusively during my first year of learning, before adding a full size harp to my collection. I am currently enrolled in IHTP, so my Nightingale will eventually be used for what it was intended for: therapy work.

Also, aesthetically speaking, I think it is one of the prettiest small harps around and Jeff Lewis, the luthier, is really wonderful to deal with.

I heard good things about the Westover Harp too, however, I too would be concerned about the limited 23 string range.

Hope this helps. Good luck with you purchase!

~Michaela

Hi Karen,

If my scale is correct, my harp weighs in at slightly under 8 pounds (fully levered with Truitt levers). If the weight is that important to you, I suggest checking with Jeff Lewis…, I am sure he will be able to give you accurate information. Either way, the harp is very light and easy to handle.The Triplett knee-bones crossbar works great with it for playing while having the harp rest on your lap. Now that I am working on my harp therapy certification, I am playing it with the strap, which is a bit awkward at first, but after a while, you get the hang of it.

The spacing is identical to my full-size harp (Thormahlen Swan), just lighter string tension as a therapy harp should have. Also, I found that pretty much from the beginning, my harp required very little tuning and I have yet to replace a single string on it. And in the 3 years I’ve had it the tone has warmed up significantly and, given the small instrument, the resonance is amazing!

~Michaela

If you’re doing “interactive” work (ie. having the patient participate with you) the tension should be light enough for a patient to strum it.